College Rules You Wanted Dick, Here You Go

President's Remarks in Hershey, PennsylvaniaHersheypark StadiumHershey, Pennsylvania 4:20 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you all for coming.(Applause.) So he said, a couple of hundred people might show up if youcame. (Applause.) I came; thousands are here; and I'm grateful.(Applause.) You know what this tells me -- with your help, we willcarry Pennsylvania on November the 2nd. (Applause.) Listen, we have a duty in our country to vote. And I'm asking you toturn to your friends and neighbors, go to your coffee shops, yourhouses of worship, your community centers, and tell people that we havea duty. And as you get people going to the polls, don't overlookdiscerning Democrats, people like Senator Zell Miller from Georgia.(Applause.) Our message is for everybody: If you want a safer America,a stronger America, and a better America, put me and Dick Cheney backin office. (Applause.) AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. I am so grateful so manycame. It means a lot. My only regret is that Laura is not here to seethis crowd. (Applause.) She was a public school librarian when I mether for the second time. See, we went to the 7th grade together, SanJacinto Junior High in Midland, Texas. When I met her the second time,and I finally asked her to marry me, she said, fine, just so long as Inever have to give a speech. (Laughter.) I said, okay, you got a deal.Fortunately, she didn't hold me to that promise. She's giving a lot ofspeeches, and when she does, the American people see a compassionate,strong, great First Lady. (Applause.) She is not with me today, but oneof our twin daughters, Barbara, has come. (Applause.) Thank you forcoming, baby. There's nothing better than campaigning for a Presidentwith a daughter you love. (Applause.) I'm proud of my Vice President, Dick Cheney. (Applause.) Now, look, Iadmit it, he does not have the waviest hair in the race. (Laughter.) Idid not pick him because of his hairdo. (Laughter.) I picked himbecause of his experience, his judgment. I picked him because he canget the job done. (Applause.) I am proud to have been introduced to this great crowd by Major DickWinters. (Applause.) An American hero who commanded Easy Company inWorld War II. (Applause.) I want to thank Congressman Todd Platts forjoining us today. I'm proud you're here, Congressman. I want to thankthe folks who are here from the statehouse and local office. I'm hereto say as clearly as I can that Scott Paterno needs to be the nextcongressman from the 17th congressional district. (Applause.) Iappreciate Tom Corbett, who is going to be the next attorney general;and Jean Craige Pepper, who's running for treasurer. (Applause.) But most of all, I want to thank you all for coming. (Applause.) It'sgetting close to voting time. (Applause.) It's time to crank up thephones. It's time to put up the signs. (Applause.) It is time to carryPennsylvania. (Applause.) In the last few years, the people have come to know me. They know myblunt way of speaking -- I get that from my mother. They know I manglethe English language sometimes -- I get that from my dad. (Laughter.)Americans also know I tell you exactly what I'm going to do, and I keepmy word. (Applause.) When I came into office, the stock market had been in serious declinefor six months, and the American economy was sliding into a recession.To help families and to get this economy growing again, I pledged toreduce taxes. I kept my word. (Applause.) The results are clear. Therecession was one of the shallowest in American history. Over the lastthree years our economy has grown at rates as fast as any in nearly 20years. The home ownership rate in America is at an all-time high.(Applause.) The past 13 months, we've added 1.9 million new jobs.(Applause.) The unemployment rate across our country is 5.4 percent --lower than the average rates of the 1970s, 1980s, and the 1990s.(Applause.) Farm income is up. This economy is moving forward, andwe're not going to go back to the days of tax and spend. (Applause.) To make sure jobs are here in America, to make sure people can findwork, America must be the best place in the world to do business. Thatmeans less regulations on our job creators. That means we got to dosomething about these frivolous lawsuits that are plaguing smallbusiness owners. (Applause.) To keep jobs here in America, Congressneeds to pass my energy plan. (Applause.) It's a plan that encouragesconservation, and encourages renewables. It's a plan that encouragesclean coal technology. It is a plan that recognizes, to keep jobs inAmerica, we must be less dependent on foreign sources of energy.(Applause.) To keep jobs here in America, we must open up markets forU.S. products. Listen, we can compete with anybody, anytime, anywhereso long as the rules are fair. (Applause.) To make sure this economy continues to grow, we got to be wise abouthow we spend your money and keep the taxes low. (Applause.) Taxes arean issue in this campaign. Now, my opponent has his own history on theeconomy. AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: Yes. In 20 years as a senator from Massachusetts, he'sbuilt a record -- of a senator from Massachusetts. (Applause.) He'svoted -- he has voted to raise taxes 98 times. AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: Yes. He voted to tax Social Security benefits. AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: Ninety-eight times in 20 years, that's about five timesa year -- I would call that a predictable pattern. See, he can run fromhis record, but he cannot hide. (Applause.) Now, he's promising not to raise taxes for anyone who earns less than$200,000 a year. He said that with a straight face. (Laughter.) Theproblem is to keep that promise, he'd have to break all his otherpromises. He has promised $2.2 trillion in new federal spending --that's trillion with a "T." And so, they said, how are you going to payfor it, and he said, fine, he's just going to raise taxes on the rich.Now, you've heard that before. When he tries to raise taxes on therich, that raises between $600 billion and $800 billion. There's a gapbetween what he's promised and how he says he's going to pay for it.And guess who usually gets to fill the gap. AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: There's something else wrong with the tax the richslogan. The rich hire lawyers and accountants for a reason -- to slipthe bill and pass it to you. We are not going to let him tax you. Wewill carry Pennsylvania and win on November the 2nd. (Applause.) AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! THE PRESIDENT: When I came into office our public schools had beenwaiting decades for hopeful reform. Too many of our children were beingshuffled through school without learning the basics. I pledged torestore accountability in the school and to challenge the soft bigotryof low expectations. I kept my word. (Applause.) We passed the No ChildLeft Behind Act and we're seeing results. Our children are makingsustained gains in reading and math. We're closing achievement gaps allaround this country, and we're not going to go back the days of lowstandards and accepted mediocrity. (Applause.) When I came into office we had a problem in Medicare. Medicine waschanging, but Medicare was not. For example, we'd pay hundreds -- tensof thousands of dollars for heart surgery, but not one dime for theprescription drugs that could prevent the heart surgery from beingneeded in the first place. That did not make any sense to our seniors.It wasn't right. I pledged to bring Republicans and Democrats togetherto strengthen and modernize Medicare; I kept my word. (Applause.)Seniors are getting discounts on medicine. And beginning in 2006, allseniors will be able to get prescription drug coverage under Medicare.(Applause.) We got more to do on health care. We got to make sure health care isavailable and affordable. We'll have a safety net for those with thegreatest needs. That's why I believe in community health centers forthe poor and the indigent. We'll do more to make sure poor children arefully subscribed in our programs for low-income families. Most of theuninsured in America work for small businesses. Small businesses arehaving trouble affording health care. To enable small businesses toafford health care we must allow them to pool together so they can buyinsurance at the same discount big businesses get to do. (Applause.) We will expand health savings accounts so workers and small businessesare able to pay lower premiums and people can save, tax-free, in anhealth care account they manage and call their own. (Applause.) To makesure health care is available and affordable, we have to do somethingabout the frivolous lawsuits that are running up the cost of medicineand running good doctors out of practice. (Applause.) You have aproblem here in the state of Pennsylvania because of these junklawsuits. You're losing too many good docs. Too many OB/GYNs areleaving the practice. Too many pregnant women are wondering whether ornot they're going to get the health care they need in order to bringtheir child into this world. The system is broken. You cannot bepro-doctor, pro-patient and pro-personal injury lawyer at the sametime. (Applause.) You have to make a choice. My opponent put a personalinjury lawyer on the ticket. AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: He voted against medical liability reform ten times.I'm standing with the doctors. I'm standing with the patients. I'mstanding with the people of Pennsylvania. I'm for medical liabilityreform now. (Applause.) I laid out a health care plan that's sensible and reasonable. Now, myopponent has got his health care plan of his own. And it's a plan forbigger government. AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: Now, the other day in the debate, he looked right inthe camera again and he said this about his health care plan -- "Thegovernment has nothing to do with it." I remember him saying that. Iwas standing right there. (Laughter.) I could barely contain myself.(Applause.) The government has got a lot to do with his health careplan. Eight out of ten Americans would end up on a government healthinsurance program. Eight million Americans would lose their privatehealth insurance at work, and most would go on a government plan. Hesays his plan helps small businesses. That's what -- that's not whatsmall business groups think. They called it an overpriced albatrossthat would saddle small businesses with 225 new mandates. I have a different view. We've got to help small businesses affordinsurance, not saddle them with a bunch of rules of regulations fromWashington, D.C. (Applause.) In all we do to reform health care, Ibelieve the health decisions need to be made by doctors and patients,not by officials in our Nation's Capital. (Applause.) I'll continue to set out policies for an optimistic and hopefulAmerica. I believe this country should be an ownership society. There'sa saying -- there's a saying, no one ever washes a rental car.(Laughter.) There's a lot of wisdom in that statement. When you ownsomething, you care about it. When you own something in America, youcare about the future of our country. (Applause.) That's why -- that'swhy we promote entrepreneurship in this administration. Every time asmall business is started in America, somebody is achieving theAmerican Dream. (Applause.) We're encouraging health savings accounts so people have the securityof owning and managing their own health care account. We're encouraginghome ownership. Listen, more and more people are able to open the doorwhere they live and say, welcome to my home, welcome to my piece ofproperty -- and America is better off for it. (Applause.) In a new term, we'll take the next step to build an ownership societyby strengthening Social Security. Now, let me speak to the seniors whoare here. You remember the 2000 campaign when they were running the TVads that said if George W. gets elected, the seniors will not get theirchecks. That's old-style scare politics. I want you to remind yourfriends and neighbors, they got their checks. They'll continue to gettheir checks. And baby boomers like me are in pretty good shape whenit comes to the Social Security trust fund. But we need to worry aboutour children and our grandchildren. See, we need to worry about whetheror not the Social Security trust will be solvent when they need help inretirement. I think younger workers ought to be allowed to take some oftheir payroll taxes and set up a personal savings account that earns abetter rate of return, an account they call their own, an account thegovernment cannot take away. (Applause.) When it comes to Social Security, as you heard the other night in thedebates, my opponent wants to maintain the status quo. AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: The job of a President is to confront problems, notpass them on to future generations or future Presidents. (Applause.)He's against the Social Security reforms I laid out, and he's againstabout every other reform that gives more authority and control to theindividual. On issue after issue, from Medicare without choices toschools with less accountability to raising taxes, he takes the side ofmore centralized control and more government. There is a word for thatattitude. There is a word for that philosophy. It is called liberalism.(Applause.) Now, he dismisses that word as a label. He must have seen itdifferently when he said, I'm a liberal and proud of it. (Laughter.)The others have noticed, as well. There's a nonpartisan NationalJournal magazine that did a study and named him the most liberal memberof the United States Senate. That takes a lot of hard work in thatbunch. (Laughter.) Can you imagine being more liberal than TedKennedy? AUDIENCE: No! THE PRESIDENT: He can run -- he can even run in camo -- but he cannothide. (Applause.) I have a different record. I have a different philosophy. I do notbelieve in big government and I do not believe government should beindifferent. I'm what I call a compassionate conservative. I believe inpolicies that empower people to improve their lives, not try to runtheir lives. We'll continue to help men and women all across thiscountry find the skills and tools they need to prosper in a time ofchange -- skills and tools necessary to realize the great promise ofour country. That's how I have led, and that's how I will continue tolead for four more years. (Applause.) AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! THE PRESIDENT: In this time of change, some things do not change.Those are the values we try to live by: courage and compassion,reverence and integrity. In changing times, we will support theinstitutions that give our lives direction and purpose -- our families,our schools, our religious congregations. (Applause.) We stand for aculture of life in which every person matters and every being counts.(Applause.) We stand for marriage and family, which are the foundationsof our society. (Applause.) We stand for the Second Amendment whichprotects every Americans individual right to bear arms. (Applause.) Westand for the appointment of federal judges who know the differencebetween personal opinion and the strict interpretation of the law. My opponent's words on these issues are a little muddy, but his recordis plenty clear. He says he supports the institution of marriage, butvoted against the Defense of Marriage Act. AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: He voted against the ban on the brutal practice ofpartial birth abortion. AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: He called the Reagan years as a period of moraldarkness. AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: There is a mainstream in American politics, and myopponent sits on the far left bank. (Applause.) During this campaign,he can run but he cannot hide. (Applause.) This election will also determine how America responds to thecontinuing danger of terrorism. I believe the most solemn duty of theAmerican President is to protect the American people. (Applause.) IfAmerica shows uncertainty or weakness in this decade, the world willdrift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch. (Applause.) Since that terrible morning of September the 11th, 2001, we havefought the terrorists across the Earth -- not for pride, not for power,but because the lives of our citizens are at stake. Our strategy isclear. We are defending the homeland. I thank the first responders whoare here with us today. (Applause.) We're strengthening ourintelligence. We're transforming our military. We will not have adraft. The all-volunteer army will remain an all-volunteer army.(Applause.) We are staying on the offensive. We will strike theterrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home.(Applause.) We will spread freedom and liberty, and we will prevail. Our strategy is succeeding. Think about the world, the way it was somethree-and-a-half years ago -- think about this. Afghanistan was thehome base of al Qaeda. Pakistan was a transit point for terroristgroups. Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for terrorist fundraising.Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons. Iraq was a dangerous placeand a gathering threat. And al Qaeda was largely unchallenged as itplanned horrific attacks. Because the United States of America led, Afghanistan is an ally inthe war on terror and is now a free nation -- (applause.) Pakistan iscapturing terrorist leaders; Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests;Libya is dismantling its weapons programs; the army of a free Iraq isfighting for its country's freedom; and more than three-quarters of alQaeda's associates and members have been brought to justice.(Applause.) We are standing with the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. I want theyoungsters here to understand what has taken place -- (applause) --what has taken place during a brief period of your life. It wasn't allthat long ago that young girls couldn't go to school in Afghanistan. Itwasn't all that long ago that their mothers were taken into the publicsquare and whipped because they wouldn't toe the line of theseideologues of hate called the Taliban. It wasn't all that long ago thatthe people of that country lived in darkness. Because we acted in ourown self-interest, because we acted to destroy the al Qaeda terroriststraining camps, because we worked to secure ourselves, 25 millionpeople live in freedom. They had presidential elections a couple ofweekends ago in Afghanistan. (Applause.) The first voter inAfghanistan was a 19-year-old girl. (Applause.) Freedom is on themarch, and the people of Afghanistan have gone from darkness to light.(Applause.) The people of Iraq will be voting for a President in January. Thinkhow far that society has come from the day of torture chambers and massgraves. It's in our interest that we spread freedom. Free societieswill be hopeful societies which no longer feed resentments and breedviolence for export. Free governments in the Middle East will fight theterrorists, instead of harboring them. Freedom will help us keep thepeace we all want. Freedom is on the move, and America is more securefor it. (Applause.) So our mission is clear. Our mission is clear. We will help thesecountries train armies and police forces and security forces inAfghanistan and Iraq so they can do the hard work of defending theirfreedom, so they can stand up and fight these terrorists who are tryingto stop the advance of freedom. We'll help the countries get on thepath of stability and democracy as quickly as possible, and then ourtroops will come home with the honor they have earned. (Applause.) We have a great United States military, because those who wear theuniform are people of such great character and service and duty andhonor. (Applause.) And I want to thank the veterans who are here todayfor having set such a great example for those who wear the uniform.(Applause.) And I want to thank the military families who are here forthe sacrifices you have made. (Applause.) And I assure you, we'll keepthe commitment we have made to the troops and their families. They willhave the resources they need to complete their missions. That's why I went to the Congress in September of 2003 and asked for$87 billion of supplemental funding to support our troops in harm'sway. I received great bipartisan support. Your Senators Senator Specterand Santorum, voted with me on that bill. (Applause.) It was animportant piece of legislation. Most people up in Congress understoodhow important it was. As a matter of fact, only 12 members of theUnited States Senate voted against funding for our troops -- two of whowere my opponent and his running mate. AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: Now, I want to tell you another startling statistic.When you're out gathering the vote, I want to tell you anotherstartling statistic, a true fact. There were only four members of theUnited States Senate, four out of a hundred, that had voted toauthorize the use of force and then voted against the funding tosupport our troops in harm's way -- two of whom are my opponent and hisrunning mate. AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: So they asked him how he could have made that vote.They asked him how he could have made that vote. And you might rememberperhaps the most famous quote of the 2004 campaign. Here is what hesaid -- "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted againstit." AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: They kept asking him and he kept answering -- he musthave given five or six different explanations. One of the mostinteresting ones of all is he finally said the whole thing was acomplicated matter. (Laughter.) There's nothing complicated aboutsupporting our troops in harm's way. (Applause.) All elections come down to a choice, and in this, America's firstpresidential election since September the 11th, the security of ourcountry as at risk in many ways different than we have ever facedbefore. We're in the midst of a global war against a well-trained,highly motivated enemy, an enemy that has no conscience. An enemy thathates Americans because of the very freedoms we love. The nextcommander-in-chief must lead us to victory in this war. Yet, you cannotwin a war when you do not believe you are fighting one. (Applause.) Senator Kerry was recently asked how September the 11th had changedhim. And he replied this: "It did not change me much at all." Endquote. AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: His unchanged world becomes obvious when he calls thewar against terror primarily an intelligence and law enforcementoperation, rather than a war which requires the full use of Americanstrength. Senator Kerry's top foreign policy advisor questioned thisis even a war at all. And here's what he said: "We're not in a war onterror in a literal sense. It's like saying 'the war on poverty' --it's just a metaphor." End quote. It's a different mind-set, adifferent attitude. Confusing food programs with terrorist killingsreveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the world we live in, of theworld we face. And this is very dangerous thinking. Senator Kerry also misunderstands our battle against insurgents andterrorists in Iraq. He called Iraq a diversion from the war on terror.Let me talk about the case of one terrorist to show you how wrong thisthinking is. The terrorist leader we face today in Iraq, the oneresponsible for car bombings and beheadings of Americans, is a mannamed Zarqawi. Zarqawi ran a terrorist training camp in Afghanistanuntil our military arrived. He then went to Iraq. He received medicalcare in Iraq. He plotted and planned in Iraq. To confirm where he'scoming from, just the other day Zarqawi announced his allegiance toOsama bin Laden. If Zarqawi and his associates were not busy fightingAmerican forces in Iraq, does my opponent think they would be livingpeaceful and productive lives? Course not. That's why Iraq is not adiversion, but a central commitment in the war on terror. (Applause.) The Senator the other day talked about the need for America to pass aglobal test when it comes to committing our troops. AUDIENCE: Booo! THE PRESIDENT: I'm not making that up. He was standing right therewhen he said it. No, we'll work with our friends and allies. I'llcontinue to build alliances and strong coalitions. But I will neverturn over America's national security decisions to leaders of othercountries. (Applause.) AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA! THE PRESIDENT: I believe -- I believe in the transformational power ofliberty. That's what I believe. I believe liberty can transformnations. One of our friends, Laura and my friends is Prime Minister ofJapan. He's a friend. I saw at the United Nations in New York. I said,listen, I'm going to be talking about you on the campaign trail, do youmind? He said, no, go ahead and talk about me. I said, okay. What hedidn't -- I didn't ask him permission to tell you that Elvis is hisfavorite singer. (Laughter.) We've gotten to know him quite well. Itprobably doesn't sound much to folks out there that I would call him myfriend. But remember, 60 years ago, we were at war with Japan. Theywere the sworn enemy of the United States of America. My dad, like manyof his generation, like many of the Band of Brothers, fought againstthe Japanese -- people of that generation served. And your dads andgranddads did the same, I'm confident. After we won the war, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States,believed that liberty could transform an enemy into an ally. That'swhat he believed. There was a lot of skepticism about that, a lot ofdoubt. There was a lot of anger because of the war, and you canunderstand why. Families' lives have been turned upside down becauseof death during the war. A lot of people would said, well, the enemycan't possibly become a democracy. But our predecessors stayed with it.And as a result of that belief, I sit down at the table today talkingabout how to keep the peace with Prime Minister Koizumi. Some day, anAmerican President will be sitting down with a duly-elected leader ofIraq, talking about peace in the Middle East. And our children and ourgrandchildren will be better off for it. (Applause.) I believe -- I believe that millions in the Middle East plead insilence for their liberty. I believe women in the Middle East want tolive in a free society. I believe mothers and fathers in the MiddleEast want to raise their children in a free and peaceful world. Ibelieve all these things because freedom is not America's gift to theworld; freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in thisworld. (Applause.) For all Americans these years in our history will always stand apart.There are quiet times in the life of a nation when little is expectedof its leaders. This isn't one of those times. This is a time thatrequires firm resolve, clear vision, and a deep faith in the valuesthat makes us a great nation. None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and anotherbegan. On September the 14th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the TwinTowers. It is a day I will never forget. I will never forget the voicesof those in hard hats yelling at me at the top of their lungs,"Whatever it takes." I will never forget the police or firefightercoming out of the rubble who grabbed me by the arm and he looked mesquare in the eye, and he said, "Do not let me down." Ever since thatday -- ever since that day, I wake up every morning thinking about howto better protect our country. I will never relent in defendingAmerica, whatever it takes. (Applause.) Four years ago -- four years ago, when I traveled your great stateasking for the vote, I made a pledge that if you gave me a chance toserve, I would uphold the honor and the dignity of the office to whichI have been elected. With your help, with your hard work, I will do sofor four more years. God bless. Thanks for coming. Thank you all. (Applause.) END 5:00 P.M. EDT Printer-Friendly Version Email this page to a friend IssuesBudget ManagementEducationEnergyHealth CareHomeland SecurityHurricanesImmigrationJobs & EconomyMedicareNational SecurityPandemic FluPatriot ActRenewal in IraqSocial SecurityMore Issues 2b1af7f3a8

College Rules You Wanted Dick, Here You Go

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